Last Modified: Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 5:33 p.m.

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Off to the side, Ball's mom, April Taunton, watched with her phone held out taking pictures. His sister, Emily Ball, walked by his side. They were giddy as they gathered Easter eggs for the 11-year-old Ball.

Normally Ball has to be pushed out into the hunt with a hundred or more kids getting their eggs, but on Saturday, there was plenty of eggs and plenty of time to get what he wanted. Henderson County Parks and Recreation hosted its 31st Annual Easter Egg Hunt and the final hunt of the day was reserved for special needs children.

That made Ball's sister happy.

"On a scale of one to 10," Emily said of seeing her brother out there, "a 100."

Ball's mother was able to fully appreciate seeing her son with Easter eggs in his lap, and the fact that there was a stress-free hunt just for special needs kids meant a lot to her.

"This is a whole lot better," she said.

Easter eggs were being hunted all over the county on Saturday morning. The Jackson Park event may have set a record, Bridgette Galloway said. Galloway, recreation program supervisor, estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 people attended this year's Easter egg hunt.

"It was great," she said. "The weather was perfect. We had a large crowd."

On the other side of the county, an Easter Egg Hunt and Parade of Hats took place in Fletcher. The annual event organized by Fletcher Parks and Recreation featured more than 20 creative hats, nearly 10,000 eggs and clogging performances.

Children and parents lined up on the ballfields and darted toward the eggs, which were in baskets in a matter of minutes.

When Chris Weiner, recreation/program/event supervisor for Fletcher Parks and Recreation, woke up Saturday morning and saw rain, concern set in.

The clouds, however, parted and the hunt was on and he couldn't "be more thankful," Weiner said. The lack of rain and the help he had made the day go smoothly.

"(Success) is heavily dependent on the volunteers," he said, and they came out in full force to help.

Lily Sun, 5, had the "Most Colorful" hat in the parade. Madison Corn had the "Most Classic." "Katie Chaney, 7, had the "Most Creative."

Some folks waded into the Easter crowds just to see what the excitement was all about. Barry and Nancy Zell moved to Hendersonville 16 months ago and decided to come and take everything in. Their grandkids were visiting, but went back home before the Easter festivities.

"We want to experience everything," Barry Zell said.

That included the chaos Saturday as thousands of Henderson County kids dashed for plastic eggs filled with candy.

No one, however, was more pleased with the experience than April Taunton. The visual of her son in a field of Easter eggs was almost overwhelming.

"There are no words for it," she said fighting back tears. "It's wonderful."

<p>Derrick Sexton pushed Daniel Ball's wheelchair out onto a speckled patch of grass at Jackson Park Saturday afternoon. </p><p>Off to the side, Ball's mom, April Taunton, watched with her phone held out taking pictures. His sister, Emily Ball, walked by his side. They were giddy as they gathered Easter eggs for the 11-year-old Ball. </p><p>Normally Ball has to be pushed out into the hunt with a hundred or more kids getting their eggs, but on Saturday, there was plenty of eggs and plenty of time to get what he wanted. Henderson County Parks and Recreation hosted its 31st Annual Easter Egg Hunt and the final hunt of the day was reserved for special needs children.</p><p>That made Ball's sister happy.</p><p>"On a scale of one to 10," Emily said of seeing her brother out there, "a 100."</p><p>Ball's mother was able to fully appreciate seeing her son with Easter eggs in his lap, and the fact that there was a stress-free hunt just for special needs kids meant a lot to her.</p><p>"This is a whole lot better," she said.</p><p>Easter eggs were being hunted all over the county on Saturday morning. The Jackson Park event may have set a record, Bridgette Galloway said. Galloway, recreation program supervisor, estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 people attended this year's Easter egg hunt. </p><p>"It was great," she said. "The weather was perfect. We had a large crowd."</p><p>On the other side of the county, an Easter Egg Hunt and Parade of Hats took place in Fletcher. The annual event organized by Fletcher Parks and Recreation featured more than 20 creative hats, nearly 10,000 eggs and clogging performances.</p><p>Children and parents lined up on the ballfields and darted toward the eggs, which were in baskets in a matter of minutes. </p><p>When Chris Weiner, recreation/program/event supervisor for Fletcher Parks and Recreation, woke up Saturday morning and saw rain, concern set in. </p><p>The clouds, however, parted and the hunt was on and he couldn't "be more thankful," Weiner said. The lack of rain and the help he had made the day go smoothly.</p><p>"(Success) is heavily dependent on the volunteers," he said, and they came out in full force to help.</p><p>Lily Sun, 5, had the "Most Colorful" hat in the parade. Madison Corn had the "Most Classic." "Katie Chaney, 7, had the "Most Creative." </p><p>Some folks waded into the Easter crowds just to see what the excitement was all about. Barry and Nancy Zell moved to Hendersonville 16 months ago and decided to come and take everything in. Their grandkids were visiting, but went back home before the Easter festivities.</p><p>"We want to experience everything," Barry Zell said. </p><p>That included the chaos Saturday as thousands of Henderson County kids dashed for plastic eggs filled with candy. </p><p>No one, however, was more pleased with the experience than April Taunton. The visual of her son in a field of Easter eggs was almost overwhelming.</p><p>"There are no words for it," she said fighting back tears. "It's wonderful."</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>